Lord of the Rings Deal
Lord of the Rings Deal
LOTR

CREDIT: THE SAUL ZAENTZ COMPANY

EXCELLENCE
"One Deal to rule them all"
Thomas Dey

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Syco
EXCELLENCE
"ACF's certainly got talent"
Ian Rosenblatt OBE

CREDIT: SYCO ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Bear Grylls
INTEGRITY
“You only get one chance
at life and you have to
grab it boldly”
Bear Grylls

CREDIT: BEAR GRYLLS VENTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Paddington
INSIGHT
“Success doesn't come
to you, you go to it.”
Marva Collins

CREDIT: PADDINGTON AND COMPANY

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Shamrock Capital - Boardwalk Pictures credit
INSIGHT
“Stay true to yourself, never let
what somebody says distract
you from your goals.”
Michelle Obama

CREDIT: BOARDWALK PICTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Pilgrim

CREDIT: PILGRIM STUDIOS

INSIGHT
“Success comes to
those who act!”
Henry David Thoreau

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Leftfield
INSIGHT
“The key to success is to
focus on goals not obstacles”
Unknown

CREDIT: LEFTFIELD ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Plimsoll Productions

CREDIT: PLIMSOLL PRODUCTIONS

INSIGHT
“Success is not final,
failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to
continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Love Productions

CREDIT: LOVE PRODUCTIONS

INTEGRITY
“ When something
is important enough,
you do it even if the odds
are not in your favour”
Elon Musk

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Top Gear
EXCELLENCE
“Success comes to
those who act”
Henry David Thoreau

CREDIT: TOP GEAR

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

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ACF sell UK scripted drama producer Mammoth Screen to ITV plc

Poldark

ACF is pleased to announce the team’s 9th transaction in the scripted drama sector – the sale of one of the UK’s most exciting drama producers Mammoth Screen to ITV plc.

“This exciting deal represents our 2nd scripted deal in the last 2 months and 9th scripted deal in this sector, enforcing the importance of scripted deals in today’s market. This is also the 7th deal that the Team have closed with ITV.”

Thomas Dey, Chief Executive Officer, ACF Investment Bank


Mammoth Screen is one of the most talked about independent scripted drama producers in the UK – most recently responsible for the hugely successful Poldark series, which launched in March 2015. Season 1 peaked at 9.4 million viewers, making it the BBC’s most successful new Sunday 9pm drama for 5 years, with Season 2 already commissioned.

The company was founded in 2007 by widely respected creatives Damien Timmer and Michele Buck. Making high quality writer-led drama and comedy for both British and international broadcasters, the company not only has an impressive range of writer and talent relationships but also a management team that has the track record and international awareness to create commercial, innovative programming.

Recent productions include multi-award winning serial Parade’s End for BBC Two and HBO, written by Tom Stoppard and starring Benedict Cumberbatch; Endeavour for ITV, a prequel to Inspector Morse, which is currently shooting Series 3; crime comedy drama Agatha Raisin for Sky 1; and Remember Me, a three-part supernatural thriller for BBC One, starring Michael Palin.

The company are currently working on a host of new commissions, including And Then There Were None for BBC One; Victoria, a major 8 part drama series about the life of Queen Victoria for ITV; Tripped, a new fantasy series for E4 and Book of the Dead, a 10 part historical saga for The Weinstein Company.


ITV plc will increase its ownership from 25% to 100%, with Mammoth Screen maintaining its creative independence as well as continuing to benefit from an in-house distribution partner in the form of ITV Studios Global Entertainment, helping the company monetise the international rights to its programming. Following the acquisition, Michele Buck will leave the business, but continue in an Executive Producer role on an independent freelance basis.


Mammoth Screen Productions Programming

Poldark
Poldark
Parade's End
Parade's End

“ACF have represented Mammoth from the beginning and have always understood the priorities of the shareholders. ACF’s experience of the complexities of structuring and negotiating these types of deals allowed him to fully safeguard the objectives of all shareholders throughout the process. Their knowledge of the scripted business is unparalleled and has made the process enjoyable and easy.”

Michele Buck, Managing Director, Mammoth Screen

“Both myself and the wider management team at Mammoth benefitted greatly from the advice and the experience of ACF, who were invaluable in supporting us to secure the right deal both in creative and commercial terms. With their help, we are pleased to have found the right home in ITV allowing us to continue to focus on producing fantastic scripted content which has strong international appeal.”

Damien Timmer, Managing Director, Mammoth Screen

“We have known Michele, Damien and the team for many years so it brings us great happiness to have closed this exciting deal. With content at the core of ITV’s strategy, Mammoth’s success, demonstrated most recently by Poldark, as well as its exciting development slate makes it a perfect partnership for the creation and exploitation of international scripted content. We wish Damien and the rest of the management team the very best in this incredibly exciting phase for Mammoth.”

ACF Investment Bank


5/5

What People Are Saying

“Since this was our first time working with an investment bank and raising capital for any of our businesses, I wasn’t sure what to expect. ACF has a great reputation and came highly recommended from several people that I hold in high regard. Overall, the experience working with Richard, Milos and Thomas was pure joy. They were the perfect partner for us, as they educated us as we were working through the process, they challenged us to think bigger about the scope and scale of our business, and they aggressively represented our business in the marketplace bringing multiple opportunities to us in a very challenging economic time. The partnership and guidance they provided was essential and they were extremely easy to work with. I only hope this is the first of many deals that we are able to execute together.”

Shawn Gee
Two One Five Entertainment

"ACF’s certainly got talent. Their team, led by the ever-tenacious Thomas Dey, delivered on their promises and introduced the perfect partners to achieve our goals."

Ian Rosenblatt OBE, Director
Syco Entertainment

"Given the complexities and importance of the rights at stake in our transaction, we interviewed several investment bank candidates at length before retaining ACF to guide our process.  We could not have chosen better!  ACF personnel were dedicated, creative, practical, responsive and deeply knowledgeable about the intricacies of the sales process. Over the months involved, Thomas, Richard, Tatiana and the rest of the ACF staff met with and worked skillfully and credibly with scores of potential buyers and with our own employees leading ultimately to a high value and very fair outcome benefitting both our company and the buyer. They have our deep respect and gratitude for a job so well accomplished"

Marty Glick, COO
The Saul Zaentz Company

“At this stage of 72’s development, there are great advantages and opportunities of joining forces with Fremantle. Their extensive international infrastructure and expertise will provide 72 Films with the platform to have our work seen across the world. We know and like their excellent team. And they offer us not only fantastic support but complete creative freedom so we can continue to work in the same way.

It’s been a real pleasure working with Thomas Dey and the whole team at ACF. They are brilliant at what they do. And alongside Matisse it’s been an incredible team behind this deal.”

Mark Raphael, David Glover, Founders and Chief Executive Officers
72 Films

“This exciting new deal between Broke and Bones and Netflix marks an exciting period of content creation, demonstrating the strong relationship between market leading creatives and the streaming platforms. ACF brokered the deal using our strong track record, experience and access in the UK and USA scripted markets. Premium content continues to lead the market with strong deals that ACF have closed including advising Mammoth Screen on sale to ITV, Neal Street to All3Media, Left Bank Pictures to Sony, Thinkfactory to ITV, Paddington Bear to Studio Canal, New Pictures to All3Media, and Carnival Pictures to NBC Universal.”

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"It has been an incredible journey for Delbert and I to get to the stage where we can build out our adventure shows under our own Studio. We stand on the shoulders of many giants, the ACF team have been incredible guides through the process - at its heart this is about building the ultimate home of adventure programming worldwide."

Bear Grylls & Delbert Shoopman
The Natural Studios

"Critical Content has been a leading player in the unscripted space for the last decade, led by a first class team. Media continues to dominate the deal landscape, with content leading the pack. What a great start to 2022! Congratulations to the whole team."

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"Boardwalk Pictures are one of the preeminent producers of premium content and this partnership with Shamrock secures Boardwalks positioning as a leading player in this market. Shamrock’s deep understanding and experience in the content space makes them great partners for Andrew and the team at Boardwalk. I look forward to seeing the growth and future success of this partnership."

RIchard Gray, Managing Director
ACF Investment Bank